Key plays push CB West past Upper Dublin in SOL semifinals
NEWTOWN >> It was a game that needed a turning point.
Upper Dublin and CB West were locked in a low-scoring, low shooting percentage game in their SOL semifinal at Council Rock North when the Bucks finally made a few game-changing plays. Sure, it helped that the catalyst in two of those plays was a holdover from last year’s state finalist team.
But either way, when CB West needed a play, it made them in a 28-25 victory over Upper Dublin.
“We just try to play hard with a lot of energy every time,” West freshman Tori Abelson said. “We play hard defense and if everyone is fronting the ball, they’re going to be forced to make mistakes and you have to capitalize.”
Abelson certainly capitalized on her chance late in the fourth quarter, stealing an errant Upper Dublin pass and laying the ball in with 1:11 left to complete a five-point comeback in the fourth quarter. Cardinals senior Allison Chernow responded by making both free throws of a 1-and-1, but the Bucks’ vets would come up big right after.
Junior guard Maggie Rakowsky picked Chernow’s pocket with 33 seconds left, got fouled by the pursuing Cardinal senior and made both foul shots to restore a 26-25 lead with 31.4 to play. After Upper Dublin failed to score, the Bucks ran a great play off an inbound play.
Starting in a stack, senior Makenzie Mason curled around the stack and down the floor, where inbounder Izzy Treon hit her in stride for a layup with 16 seconds left.
CB West's stack play that got Makenzie Mason a late layup @PaPrepLive @SOLsports pic.twitter.com/BNYFNiRHCw
— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) February 6, 2016
“We came into the weekend, it’s a no-pressure weekend but we really wanted to win the tournament,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “We prepared like it was a playoff game and we wanted to win, bad. I told the girls afterwards that we deserved to win the game defensively the way we played but we didn’t deserve to win the game with the decisions we made.”
Even after Mason’s layup, Upper Dublin still had a shot. A 3-pointer fell short, but West then threw the resulting inbound pass the length of the floor to kill the 1.2 seconds left. Problem was, nobody was back there to catch it, so UD got another chance, got a shot it wanted but just had it fall short.
“Both sides had a lot of missed shots, it almost felt more like who was going to give it away,” West coach Terry Rakowsky said. “Even at the end there, we had enough to draw up what we wanted, drew it up and put it down there and we didn’t execute it. (Upper Dublin) should have never gotten a look at a 3.”
Tori Abelson scores off a sharp inbound play Q1 vs Upper Dublin @PaPrepLive @SOLsports pic.twitter.com/Mffg5l4jLn
— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) February 6, 2016
Neither team could claim it played well, especially on offense. CB West’s high-energy defense seemed to be the difference maker, with Funsten noting how it just wears down teams going against it. Maggie Rakowsky kept West in it with her 11 points while Mason chipped in nine points and eight boards.
Chernow led Upper Dublin with seven while Ashley Barber had four points and 10 rebounds and Maggie Weglos pulled down nine boards. Abelson only scored four, but had a key assist to go with her fourth quarter steal and hoop, plus nine rebounds for the game.
West faces North Penn in the SOL title game at 6 p.m. Monday at Bensalem High School.
“We’re just playing and having a good time,” Abelson said. “We got a few good wins this week and they were really tough, so we’re feeling pretty good, still playing hard and keeping up the energy.”
